A Harwich man who attacked his ex-partner’s boyfriend with a clothes dryer before stamping on his head has avoided jail.

James Stephens, 21, turned up at the home of Danielle Hallett on June 19 and proceeded to kick down her front door before assaulting her partner Ian Holdgate.

The altercation, which saw Stephens stamp on Mr Holdgate’s head and grab him by the throat, took place while the defendant’s one-year-old son sat in his pushchair outside the house.

The attack left Mr Holdgate with bruising to his face and arms.

Stephens, who was arrested several days after the incident, was found guilty of three counts of criminal damage and one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he appeared before Colchester Magistrates’ Court in November.

Yesterday morning (Monday, December 11), he came before Recorder Giles Eyres to be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Stephens leaving Chelmsford Crown Court

The court heard how Stephens, who works as a dry liner, was under a court order not to attend Miss Hallett’s home in King George’s Avenue, Harwich, at the time he launched the vicious attack.